Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-02-07

THE CHURCH OF GOD COMING
OUT OF THE WILDERNESS

BROOKLYN, Feb. 6.-TO-day was
moving day In the Brooklyn Tabernacle,
as the annual pew letting has just Oc-
CURED and many have changed places.
This church combines the two plans of
pew rental and free church. The rented
pews this year yield an advance on all
previous years, 30 that the income will be
about S32, 600. But about 1000 slttings
are always kept free, so that no one may
complain that he cannot worship here for
lack Of means. This morning Prof.
Browne rendered an organ solo, First
Sonata in D minor by Ritter and the con-
gregatiOn sang the hymn:
"Our God. our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come"
The subject of the sermon was "Piilars
OF Smoke" and the text was taken from
SolomoEs Song iii, s: "Who is
this that cometh out of the wilderness
like pillars of smoker" Or. Tamage
said:
The architecture OF the smoke ia wondrou4,
whether God with his finger curs it into
cloud, or rounds it into dome, or points II IN
a spire. or epreads it in a wing, or. as IN the
text, hoists it in pillar. Watch it winding
up from the country farmhouse in the early
morning, showing that the pastoral Industries
have begun; or see 1t ascending from the
chlmneys of the city, telling of the homes fG }.
the factories turning out valuable fabric, the
printing presses preparing book and newspa-
per, and all the ten thousand wheels of work
in motion. On clear day this vapOr spoken
of mounts with such buoyancy, aud spreads
such delicate veil across the sky, and traces
such graceful lines OF circle and semi circle.
and wave, and tOeses. and sinks, and sOArs.
and scatters with such affluence of shape, and
color. and tIVpnPsS. thai If have
never noticed 1t you are like u man who
has all his life lived in Paris and ypU
never seen the Luxembourg. and all his life
IN Rome ana never seen the atcan, and all
his life at Lock port and never seen Niagara.
FOrtY-f0ur times the Bible speaks Of the
smoke. and II is about sine that somebody
breaches Il sermon recognizing this strange,
weird, beautiful, elastic. charming, terrific
and fascinating vapor. Across the Bi Die SKY
floats the smoke of Sinai, the smoke of SOdom,
the smoke of Al, the smoke Of the pit, the
smoke oi the volcanic hills when God touches
them, and in my text the glorious Church OF
Cod coming up out of the wilderness like pill
lars of smoke.
Ia the hrst place, these pillars Of smoke IN
my text indicate the suffering the Church of
God has endured. What do | mean by tho
Church? | mean not Wiling. not IA sect.
UGt those who in all ages and all lands. and
or All beliefs, love God 8nd are trying TO do
right. tOF-mAny centuries the Heavens have
been black with the smoke OF martyrdom. II
set side by side sou could glrdle the Garth
Win lHt uTtb Ol DtTEGgutiOl. hOhlunu Ii NlOF
burned at Hddlelgh, LaJlmer burned at
oxford. John Rogers burned at Smithheld,
John Hooper burned at Gloucester, john
Huss burned at Constance, Lawrence Ssund-
crs burned at Coventry, Joan OF Arc burned
at ROuen. Protestants have som etimes
pointed 10 the Catholics as prosecutors, but
both Protestant AMI Catholic have praCticed
Infamous crueltles. The Catholics during the
reign Of Hunneric were by Protestants put to
the worst tortures, stripped OF tneIr c Othng,
hoisted in the air by pulleys with weights sus-
pended from their feet. then let down, and
ears and eyes. nose and tongue were amDu-
tated, and red hot plates of iron were put
against the teuderest part of their bodies.
George Bancroft. the historian. says OF the
state of Maryland: In the land which
Catholics had opened to Prntestants mass
might not be said publicly; no Catholic priest
or Bishop night utter his faith IN a voice Of
persuasion; no Catholic might teach the
young. IL wayWard child Of Papist
0ouid but become an apostate, the law
Wrested for h'm from his parents share OF
their property. such were the methods
adopted tO prevent the growth OF Popery"
Speaking of Ireland Bancroft, the historian,
says; "Such priests as were permitted TO re-
side in Ire and we're required to beregsteTed,
and were kept like prisoners at large within
prescribed limits All Papists exercising
ecclesiastical jurisdiction. all monks, frars
ami regular priests, and all priests not then
actually in parishes, and to be registered,
were banlshed from Ireland under pain of
transportation, AMI, on return, Of being
hanged, drawn and quartcred."
Catholicism as we'll as Protestanism has
had its martyrs. II does seem rs If when anv
one sect got complete dominancy in any land
the devil of persecution ana cruelty took DOS
session OF that rect. Then see lhe Catholics
after tie HuguenOIs. see the Gentiles after
the Jews in TOuralne, where q great nit was
dug and fire lighted at the bottom OF the pit.
and LOO Jewish victims were consumed. See
the Presbyterian Parliament Of England.
more tyrannical in their treatment of opDO-
menus than had been the criminal courts. Per
I.E lr lft4In tfftf.
tlsts. PereecutiO Of the Established Church
against the Methodist Church. Persecution
against the Quakere. PcrsocuiiOn against
the PresDyiCfi ms. Under Emperor DiUclp-
tan H4,eoJ Christians were massacrcG, and
100000 more Of them died from baniahmcnt
and exposure. Witness the suferlng- OF the
Wa den;;te.s. OF the hlbigen,cs, OF the Nesto-
rIans. WE, % st. BarthOiOmeW's massacre.
Witness the Duke Of Alya driving out Of life
1900 Christians. mess nerod. and
Nero, and Decius. and illdebrand. and
TOrquemada, and Earl NJ MOntlOrt, and Lord
Ciayerhouse, who. when tod that he must
give account for his cFueltie7. said: ~ have
no need TO account to man, ana ~ for God I
will take HIM in my own hsnd5." 4 red line
Of blood. Not by the hundreds
OF thousands but by the millions must we
count those slain frr Christ's sake. No won
der John Milton put the sroans OF the martyrs
10 an immortal tune, writing;
"Ayenge, 0 Lord, thy slaughtered saints,
whose homes
Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold"
The smoke OF martyrs homes and martvrp
bodies II rolling up all az once would nave
ecilp-ed the MONDAY sun and turned the
brightest day the world ever sAw into a mid
night. ''Who is -he thas cometh up QUO Of
thr wilderness Ike pillars of sinOGey'
Has persecution ceasadf ASK That young
man who is tryin- TO be Christian IN a store
or factory whore from mOrDinR 10 night he j.
the bats OF all the mean wlttIcisms OF unbe-
ncving cmpOye.. Ask that wife whose
husband makes her f0ndnChs Tor the house Of
God aud even her kneelIug praycr by the bed
side a derls0n. and Is no more III for her
holy paniOnsbip tnHn lthy crow would
be NJ companion for q robin or q golden
orlole. ComprOmise e. ith tho world ana sur
render 10 ito cOnyentlOnalItics and 10 may let
you alone, but all who Wl.l live cody IN
Christ Jesus must suffer persecution. be
thcatre-2oing. card-paying, wine-drlnking,
round dancing Christian, ana you may es-
cape criticism and social pressure. But be
an up and down, out and out follower Of
Christ, and wording will wink TO wording
a. he speaks your name. and you Will be put
In many "A dOgacrei and snubbed By thOse not
worthy TO blackon your oldest shOos. When
the bridge at Ashtabula broke and lot down
the most OF the carload OF passengers to in-
slant death Mr.. y. T. Bliss was seated on one
side OF the aisle OF tho car writing down u
Chretian song which ne was composing, and
on the other side group OF men were play
ing cards. Whose landing place in eternity
wOdld you preicr-tbat Of r. Z. Bliss, tho
gospel singer, or of the card players.
A great complaint comes from the theatres
about the ladies' nigh hats because thoy OBJ
AZ hF vi ~ m afu AMI 4 lads "a